GlobeSt.com: How did GM end up in Renaissance Center?

Cullen: The GM building was no longer big enough to support all of our needs. We decided we could be outside the city or somewhere else because Detroit was having some pretty challenging times. We decided that if we could come up with a good scenario within the city we would pursue it because we wanted to be part of the solution. Renaissance Center had been not faring very well financially and had been on and off the market for a period of time. I proposed to our leadership that we buy the center.

GlobeSt.com: What was the plan?

Cullen: We determined to do three things: Transform the building into this world class global headquarters; take care of the New Center Area, where we had been for 75 years; and serve as a catalyst for further economic development.

GlobeSt.com: Tell me about the transition from New Center to Downtown.

Cullen: We had marketing folks scattered all over Southeast Michigan. Buick was in Flint and Oldsmobile was in Lansing. We wanted to pull all of that together. So we went from a city population of less than 3,000 to more than 6,000. We donated the New Center building for use as a state office building. Today, we occupy roughly 50% of the six buildings that comprise Renaissance Center. The entire complex is fully occupied.

GlobeSt.com: And what about the economic catalyst?

Cullen: By the mid-1990s all the major office users were moving out, and there had been no major investment in the city in a long time. Our decision caused other people to get in the game, and there have been billions of new investment since, including two new stadiums and the arrival of Compuware and EDS. Also, as we were making our decision there was maybe one new housing start in the city of Detroit. This year it's closer to a couple of thousand. You should know that before the end of last year we dedicated the riverfront side of the complex and last week [the week of Jan. 10] we opened the front door to the city. It has changed the way people look at Downtown. We donated the Riverwalk to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, which has committed to creating three and a half miles of perpetual public access to the riverfront.

GlobeSt.com: Now the economic development initiative is going global. Tell me about that.

Cullen: GM has kicked off a series of regional forums around the world wherein we will come together with local-area leaders and work with them to understand what is being done and what could be done. We all need to understand and share information on how corporations and communities can partner to their mutual advantage.

GlobeSt.com: Is this being done only where GM has a self-interest?

Cullen: This is a learning process, and initially our focus will be on our communities, but clearly the product of our collective efforts over the course of the next year will be on information that can be utilized by other corporations in other communities.

GlobeSt.com: Can you measure potential impact?

Cullen: It's more conceptual than that, and every community is unique. We want to look at the strategies people have used and stimulate ideas based on that. We want to share what has happened with GM and how we've been successful in a community. We want to spend significant time with those community leaders and work through with them strategies specific to that community.

GlobeSt.com: But there must be basics that would always apply.

Cullen: Clearly communication is key as is a business-friendly approach, a transparent approvals process and reasonable tax policies. You also need a sense of realism.

GlobeSt.com: Would you make a capital investment in those initiatives with the goal of a return?

Cullen: This is not that kind of program, and it's not intended to be a for-profit intervention. We're trying to develop strategies that allow communities to be successful and allow corporations to be successful within those communities.